According to Red Bull Racing’s motorsport consultant Helmut Marko, the 2017 rule changes will help his team not only win some races, but challenge for a title again.
In a recent interview, Marko was asked if he sympathizes at all with Mercedes, who were reluctant to accept the rule changes. He openly replied “Not at all. Because it was all about not losing any advantage. Now all the teams again have the chance to close the gap. Of course we are probably the biggest beneficiary, as in the past when new regulations came in we’ve always been ahead.”
Marko also feels that despite better midfield racing this year, at the top things are still too predictable.
“The midfield racing has been sizzling. But when it came to winning the race you knew that it would be a Mercedes driver. The Mercedes driver who comes out of the first corner in first is the race winner. Hopefully that will change.”
Red Bull is also waiting on a pretty significant power unit upgrade, the likes of which should put them “back in a situation where we can win races again on circuits like Budapest and Singapore – tracks that don’t have long straights.”
When asked to differentiate about the team’s expectations for this season and the next, Marko agreed with the fact that in 2017, his team will no longer need to be at the “mercy” of particular tracks or the misfortune of others, because they will be able to win races everywhere.
The Red Bull consultant also stated that he hopes the RB12 will be able to threaten Ferrari this year, which is plausible considering that right now, the two teams are separated only by 19 points in the Constructor standings.
PHOTO GALLERY
